Blog Audience

With how easy it is today to create video, we, as bloggers, need to think of how to leverage video content to increase traffic to our site. I will give you some video tips that are easy and inexpensive enough for anyone to use to get started with video content for their blog.

Why make a video?

You can cram a lot of content and information into a short 5-10 minute video than you can into paragraphs of words.

When used effectively, you can build an audience and gain returning visitors through visual content.

Video helps to build trust with your audience. They see and hear what you are talking about, therefore they understand better the message you are trying to convey.

Types of Videos

Below are five types of videos that work well with blogs. They can be applied to almost any subject.

Teasers – These are short 30-90 second videos that show your viewers a product or service. They are much like a TV commercial.

Leadership – Demonstrate your authority on a subject. You can provide useful and unique information from your perspective.

Interviews – Open dialogues about a subject related to your blog. These videos can be fancy and shot in a studio or simple Internet conversations recorded with Skype or another video conferencing tool. Check out these five video interviewing tips.

Demos/Training – These videos show step-by-step how to do something or provide an overview of how something works.

Storyboarding

Starting off with a storyboard is very important whenever you set out to do a video. It does not need to be fancy, have awesome drawings or graphics, or have details that everyone would understand. It is a tool to help YOU plan out how the video will go from how the camera shots and angles will be set up to where the person or object on camera will be placed in the frame.

Equipment

Start off with some basic tools such as a simple video camera with an on-board microphone and 3-point lighting. There is no need to invest in expensive equipment. Find things around your house that will suffice. For example, locate a lamp that will light up a large area. Fill in the shadow areas with other lamps of varying intensity to minimize shadows. Be sure to strategically set them up to be flattering on the subject. When recording a video over the Internet, you can usually get away with only one light source and the built-in audio and video capabilities.

Talent

Whether you are doing an interview or having someone be your talent on camera, you always want to have a specific thought in mind. Therefore, you can clearly convey to your talent why you are choosing them and what you want them to do or talk about.

Scripts

Assemble a detailed verbatim script of what the person or people will say on camera. Also, have your talent practice the script to avoid bloopers and other mistakes. Your goal is to always capture on camera exactly what you want for your final product so that you minimize the amount of work you have in post-production. In essence, the more work you do in pre-production, the less work you will have in post-production.

Audio

Avoid recording outdoors at all costs unless your audio will be replaced with other audio. You do not want to ask your talent to return to your location to do voiceover work for inaudible parts. Also, test your audio to see if the recording volumes are set correctly.

Editing Software

It is very easy to edit your videos using iMovie for Mac or Movie Maker for PC. These software packages are inexpensive and have a small learning curve. They will allow you to cut out any undesirable parts and insert a leader, royalty-free music, images, graphics, cuts, or information.

Have Fun!

My last tip is to simply enjoy the process. No matter what type of video you create for your blog, you can make it a fun process with these simple tips above.

Meet the Author

I am a professor of Marketing at Full Sail University in the Digital Marketing degree. I teach a wide range of classes in mobile and emerging technology marketing, storytelling, content marketing strategy, new media distribution channels, and personal branding. I also currently serve as a LinkedIn Advisor and as a Past-President of the American Marketing Association of Orlando. My interests are in music, film, television, and art.

Contact Ken for speaking engagements at 415-891-7702.

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